Article dispenser



July 31-, 1951 T. J. FOLEY ET AL ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1949Tfiomy J 23 ZJ' ZZZ 6802276 flj izzrzefa Patented July 31, 1951 Q fSTATEIS 1o FlFil C E i lllinois conibination dispensing device and 'cointray or hute-s'o positioned as to oc'cu'pya minimumof sp'aceand-to callpotential customers attention forci'bly'to the'dispensing-device. deviceof this t?" isparticularly adaptedfor use' 'a't such places aesk's inrestaurants and storeswhere the change aroma previous sale is placed inthe changetray, nd th'usaidsinthe sale of articles in the dis- DBlj'sr.I l

' Another-object is to provide such'a -'device in an attractive, compactform which is "simple and 'idurable in constr'uction and relativelyinexpensive to manufacture A further object is to provide such a devicewhich maybe reloaded readily and lends itself to advertising display.

Other objectsand advantages will appear from the following descriptionand fromthe drawings,

fiti' whicltr v a I a Figure 1 is a perspective view of an em'bodimentof the inventionchosen forillustration.

Fig. 2 is a front view this embodiment of the invention. "-"-"Fig, 3 isaside-viewofthiSfembodiment of the ;-invention, "some portions beingcutaway approxiatel'y' tot'he line i=3 of Fig 2 to showjm'oreeelearly'the structure of the base and the "lower "end of the"dispenser.

Fig.4 is a perspective view of the lower end *ofbn'e form of a cartridgewhich may be used with the dispenser. v

Fig, 5 is a fragmentaryfiectional view taken approximately along thel'ine"55 of Figfz. "filthoughthe law requires a'full andexactdescription of at least one form of the invention, such as thatwhich follows, it is, of course, the purpose of a patent to cover eachnew inventive concept therein, no matter how it may later be disguisedby variations in form or additions of further improvements; and theappended claims are intended to accomplish this purpose by par-'ticularly pointing out the parts, improvements or combinations in whichthe inventive concepts are found.

In the embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration, the improvedchange tray and dispenser includes two parts, a base I and a cartridgeIS. The base I may be molded from glass, metal, plastic or similarmaterial, for instance 'butyrate. The base I is provided with an ina'r"imert, Berwyn, ='Ill., assign'ors to 'I-h Caindy Comp-any, chiea ullacorporation-wt urtiss Application April 12, 194's,xsenaiinaiseiezs Y'2'Claims. (01. '312-42) against loss of such change, devices orpedestals 4, adapted "to'receive c'artrid'g'e I,fspa'ced -'o'n'"oppositesi'de's"ofba'se l,'a*pocket 6 into "which such change willslide and concentrate, and afguard rim or ledge! around pocket 6.Preferably'legs 8 are provided which are adapted tojhold "suetion cups9. These form ideal feet in ajny locajes-eanziy or cigarette*countersf-and cashiers tion'andma'y be useda's'su'ction cupsfitoprevent have thr'ee 'sided upward extensions to provide cartridgesupports *"l I. Extending inwardly from the rear walls of cartridgesupportsfll are shelves l 2, adapted "to provide vertical support forcartridge i6. Preferablygshelve's 12 are wide enough to extend"partially beneath articles ll'contained 'in'cart'rid'ge 16, whichensuresthat edges 2110f "the rear wall of thecartridge I will not slipoff shelves 12. Parallel runners l 3,', p1eferably,fX- tending "thethickness of supports ll (from fron't to back) at the level of shelvesl2, provide vertical supportfor articles I'I and also provide a smoothsurface over which the "lowermost are 'ticles may be'slidou't throughhorizontal slots HI.

Runners 1'3 maybe merely angular c'ontinuations ofshelvesl'z.

Cartridge l6 may be the regular cardboard carton'in which the gum, candybars or other articles to be" dispensed are packaged, Pref- =erab1yon'eend "of the carton is 'die out, "or "perforated, so that on beingopened it may readily be torn approximately to the shape shown in Fig.4, with the center portion l8 of the opening being higher than the endsH! to permit the lowermost article to be gripped. One face of the boxmay be pre-cut to the contour shown, and the other may be largelypre-cut likewise but with a tuck-in flap extending therefrom andseparable along perforations, especially where edges 22 will be leftupon tearing off the flap.

The form of the invention chosen for illustration is particularlyadapted for dispensing suchfiat articles as individual sticks of gum.For this purpose, cartridge l6 and cartridge tilts the face 2| ofcartridge I6, upon which adpocket 9 .may vary.

as to hold ,,cartridge forms of interlocking between cartridge 16 andvertising matter may be displayed, toward potential customers so that itmay be read easily and also, in effect, lifts the front edge 22. Thispermits the lowermost article to be removed without interference. Ifthicker article are to be dispensed, it may be desirable to furtherraise front edge 22 by tilting more or perhaps by cutting .it back. Thislatter could also be done if it were desired tomaintain cartridge IS ina more nearly vertical position. The tilting method of providing awithdrawal opening is preferred because it permits the use of a bettercarton.

While pedestals 4 and [associated part areshown as being at asubstantially higher level than rim 3, this may not be necessary if theslope of inclined face 2 is sufiicient to provide clearance. It ismerely necessary to have sufficient clearance between inclined face 2and the lowermost article to allow the opening between them to serve itsdual purpose of permitting passage of change" and of the fingers ofcustomers.

. Although ,we have illustrated an embodiment Of-the invention in whichcartridge supports H are formed of continuous or solid walls except forslots through which to Withdraw the lowermost article, and includeshelves. 1 2 for ver- ..tical supportsrof cartridge 16, other forms ofhorizontal supports may be used, such as mere corner pillars, pillarshavin arms extending around the ends, of cartridge 16, and a pedestal atonly one side, with cantilever support (as by NVherecartridge i6 is theregularcardboard carton in which articles I! to be dispensed arepackaged, the end, before being torn to the shape shown in Figure 4, mayhave tuck-in flaps extending from ends l9. If such flaps are provided,itmay be best not to tear them off, but to. tu'ck,them down past shelves12 as cartridge I6 is inserted into cartridge supports H. In thateventthe flaps are preferably notched to receive shelves l2, andinterlock with them so 16 'more firmly. Other its holder could beprovided instead of that described.

' We claim:

1.The, combination of a cartridge having frontand rear sides bothterminating at the bottom end substantially in the same planeperpendicular to said sides, and supporting means including side membersadapted to provide horizontal support for said cartridge and havingopenings, one in the front wall of each side member above saidhorizontal support, through which the lowermost article in the cartridgecan be withdrawn and means approximately at the level of said opening insaid supporting means beneath the rear side of said cartridge to supportit vertically, and said side members being tilted rearwardlysufficiently to raise the end of the front side of said cartridge abovethe lower edge of said opening in said supporting means a distancegreater than the thickness of said lowermost article to provide passagefor said article.

2. The combination of a cartridge having front and rear sides bothterminating at the bottom end substantially in the same planeperpendicular to said sides, and supporting. means including sidemembers adapted to provide horizontal support for said cartridge andhaving openings, one in the front Wall of each side member above saidhorizontal support, through which the lowermost articles in thecartridge can be withdrawn, a shelf approximately at the level of saidopening in said supporting meansbeneath therear side of said cartridgeto SuppQrt it vertically, and runners extending toward said openings andhaving their upper surfaces positioned substantially level with saidshelf, said side members being tilted rearwardly sufiiciently to raisethe front side of said cartridges above the lower edge of said openingin said supporting means and above saidrunners a distance greater thanthe thickness of said lowermost article to provide passage for saidarticle.

THOMAS J. FOLEY. GEORGE W. EMMERT.,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

